Guelph Bible Chapel is ultimately led by Jesus Christ, the great Head of The Church, through submission to His Word and through His working and guidance via His Holy Spirit.
Under Christ, God gifts local churches with qualified men to lead and build them up (Eph. 4:11-12).
GBC is led by a plurality of elders.
Daniel Chapman
Dan Chapman has been attending GBC for his entire life and currently serves as the chairman of our elder team. He came to faith in Christ at a young age through the Godly influence of his parents and is grateful for the many people at GBC who have taught, mentored and invested in him over the years. He is gifted at administration and cares deeply about the members and ministries of GBC. He serves with the music teams and leads the OASIS day camp in addition to his other responsibilities. He enjoys walking and talking with friends and family, and cheers for the Guelph Storm and Guelph Royals in his spare time.
One of his favourite Bible passages is, "be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong; let all that you do be done in love." (1 Corinthians 16:13-14). |
Ken Tamminga
Ken serves as an elder at GBC as well as ministry leader over the tech teams and the missions committee. Ken has a passion for serving the church of today while staying true to the doctrines of Scripture. He is husband to Rebekah and together they have two young children.
A meaningful verse for Ken has been Hebrews 12:1-3, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a could of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." |
Chris Timm
Chris has been a pastor at GBC since 2005. He is an avid reader and writer who also enjoys physical fitness. Besides his ministry at GBC Chris has a passion for youth and so his mission field is serving as a high performance track and field coach. He is married to Jennifer and they have 5 children and 3 grandchildren. Chris also serves as an elder of the church and as ministry leader of the GBC youth.
One of his favourite Bible passages is Jeremiah 29:11," I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." |
Daniel Andrade
Dan serves as lead pastor of Guelph Bible Chapel. He was born in a former Portuguese colony in India, and moved to Brazil at three where he spent much of his childhood. He first heard the gospel at twelve, and was overwhelmed by God’s goodness and grace. He embarked then on the journey of following Jesus, and was formed in churches that instilled in him a deep love and trust for Scripture. Dan moved to Canada in his late teens.
In his mid-20’s the Lord used the writings of John Piper to call Dan to labour among the unreached in Africa. It was there he met his bride, Lindsay, who served under the same calling. Dan and Lindsay and their four children served in East and North Africa until 2018, when the Lord brought them back to Canada through a family medical crisis. In the Lord’s Providence, the season that followed was one of healing and equipping through Heritage Seminary, from where Dan received a Master of Divinity degree. He was called to serve Guelph Bible Chapel as its pastor in 2023. Dan is passionate about God’s Word, discipleship, prayer, and the gospel's spread among the nations. He's eager to see Christ's church grow into faithful and fruitful maturity through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God. A particularly meaningful verse in Dan’s journey of discipleship is John 6:37: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (ESV) |
Patrick Thornton (sabbatical from summer 2023)
Patrick has been attending GBC since 2006. He came to faith in Christ earlier in his life in Gatineau, Québec. He loves teaching from the Bible and connecting with other guys at GBC to pray and journey together. He tries to keep in shape through swimming, running, going to the gym, and playing the occasional soccer game. He feels incredibly blessed to be married to Andrea and they have an energetic boy named Caleb.
A passage that has great significance to him is 1 Peter 1:3-9, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." |
Biblically, the office of elder is open to men whose lives serve as examples of faithfulness to the church, and who are able to teach God’s Word (1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9).
Three different terms are used interchangeably to describe this office, each highlighting a different aspect of the role:
In our context, though these titles can be used interchangeably, for the sake of clarity the elders who serve the church vocationally are also commonly known as pastors.
Leadership decisions at GBC are made by the elders in consensus.
All our elders share in the shepherding of the church, and therefore pastoral concerns at GBC may be shared with all the elders as necessary.
Three different terms are used interchangeably to describe this office, each highlighting a different aspect of the role:
- Church leaders are called Shepherds (latin – pastor), called to feed, lead, and protect those allotted to their charge (1 Pet 5:1-3).
- Church leaders are called Elders, called to exercise wise and prudent care over their local church family (Acts 20:17).
- Church leaders are called Overseers, called to exercise godly authority in leading their congregation (Acts 20:28), over whose souls they keep watch as those who will give an account (Heb 13:17).
In our context, though these titles can be used interchangeably, for the sake of clarity the elders who serve the church vocationally are also commonly known as pastors.
Leadership decisions at GBC are made by the elders in consensus.
All our elders share in the shepherding of the church, and therefore pastoral concerns at GBC may be shared with all the elders as necessary.